Counter-Strike 2 has been struggling with numerous issues since its late September release, and a lack of substantial fixes has caused a few players to call out Valve. These pundits should be silenced after the developers released a massive update on Nov. 16.
The latest patch is arguably the biggest one since the game was officially released two months ago. It not only changes all seven maps in the active map pool, but also introduces dozens of tweaks in terms of gameplay, animation, UI, and Workshop.
The community almost immediately responded with applause and gratitude, with players admitting Valve has been working tirelessly lately, and it’s visible in the number and quality of the updates that were released in the past couple of weeks.
Gameplay
Sub-tick improvements are the most standout element in terms of gameplay itself in the latest CS2 update. As a result, the game should run more smoothly, though, it will likely take a few games to check out whether they produce significant results.
Additionally, a bug where the servers wouldn’t register a thrown grenade was also addressed. It’s likely one of the most popular and annoying types of clips that have been posted on CS-related social media lately.
- More sub-tick visual and audio feedback improvements
- Reduced sniper scope bob animation magnitude and frequency
- Fixed a bug causing duck to be slower when the Duck Mode was set to Toggle
- Fixed a case where grenade throws weren’t registering on the server
- Thrown grenades no longer prematurely detonate if thrown while intersecting a teammate
- Players can no longer mitigate fall damage by defusing the bomb
- Adjusted weapon drop trajectories to make throwing weapons more consistent, especially when throwing weapons downward
- When a network interruption is detected by official game servers, the affected match will be canceled
- Added unique sounds for running and jumping on metal railings and poles
Animation
For the past few days, social media has been flooded with clips of bugged animations of CS2 weapons and utility. Valve was aware of them and launched almost a dozen fixes regarding animation alone.
- Fixed a bug that occurred when interrupting the CZ75a deploy with inspect
- Fixed the inspect and other animations for the Shadow Daggers
- Fixed a ‘broken wrist’ animation with the Survival Knife
- Adjusted the Mac10 first-person animation to include strap and bolt movement
- Fixed AWP and SSG firing animation/inspect behavior while zoomed in
- Fixed a case where the Deagle slide would fail to reset on round restart
- The Revolver barrel now incrementally rotates for each shot
- Fixed some animation issues with weapons placed in community maps
- Fixed cases where the C4 light would not blink when held or holstered by players
- Fixed some cases where the player’s shadow would show an incorrect pose
UI
Similarly to the animation bugs, players have been pointing out some flaws in terms of UI. Valve has also reacted in that manner, fixing minor yet annoying bugs.
- Revised some common chat strings
- Added convar cl_deathnotices_show_numbers for observers to have quick access to player’s spectate index
- Added a warning message for AMD and Nvidia graphics users with out-of-date drivers
- “Kevlar & Helmet” entry in the Buy Menu will now present itself as simply “Helmet” when contextually correct
- Added time to weekly rollover to the reduced XP message in the player profile tooltip
- Fixed kill feed and death panel not displaying correct information if the killer died earlier or disconnected
- Fixed round-delayed stats not updating at match end
- Changed deathmatch scoreboard stats from K/D/A/Score to K/Headshot percentage/DMG/Score
- Fixed case where text during defuse would get cut off
- Added direction indicators to players in the square radar
- Fixed case where kill icon would not display in the post-round damage info panel
- Fixed bad string in the commend dialog panel
- Fixed case where round stats in the Watch Menu would be assigned to the wrong side
Workshop
With CS2 being a new game, the modders and creators of community maps had to somewhat start over. A bit less than two months after release, Workshop mapmakers and fans received some improvements from Valve, which should make running such maps slightly easier.
- Fixed custom sound events files in workshop maps
- Added some material settings for water refraction/caustics
- Workshop maps can now be tagged as supporting Wingman mode
- Linux clients can now run workshop maps without requiring -insecure
- Added trigger_hostage_reset trigger and logic_eventlistener entities
- Added convars sv_walkable_normal and sv_standable_normal to allow community servers to tweak player movement on angled surfaces
- Fixed health getting clipped when it exceeds three digits
Miscellaneous
- Fixed a bug where bot_knives_only didn’t work for T’s
- Fixed some visual issues with demo playback
- Improved performance of screen particle effects
- Fixed the Mute Enemy Team and Mute All But Friends settings failing to mute voice
- Text from blocked players will no longer be visible in the premier pregame chat
- Players frozen by half-time gamerules are now immune to certain damage types
- Decals now evict the lowermost decal if enough decals overlap in a single location
- Player visibility fog adjustment no longer applies to dead ragdolls
- Smoke particles no longer stick to dead ragdolls
- Fixed self/team burn damage getting recorded as enemy damage
Maps
The true cherry on top, or rather the true crème de la crème of CS2’s Nov. 16 update, are the changes to Office and all seven active pool maps. Overpass, Anubis, Office, and Inferno are leading the charge in terms of maps with most updates, though, it doesn’t seem like any of them has been significantly updated.
Although looking at how a few CS2 maps work, and how even a slight adjustment can make an enormous difference in deploying a certain Smoke or Molotov, let’s not be too quick to judge these map changes.
Overpass
- Fixed various cases where level mesh was disappearing occasionally
- Various visual updates and fixes to models and materials
- Straightened out some collision that was pushing players off of walls or corners
- Turned off the collision of some light fixtures that were pushing players off of walls
- Added a metal plate to swat van to hide player feet, adjusted clipping around van
- Fixed some small holes in the world
- Fixed some texture mapping seams
- Added player clipping on some floor grates to smooth player movement
- Fixed some issues with the collision and surface property of fire extinguishers
- Added and adjusted some grenade clipping
- Adjusted some clipping on boxes and cable stacks in connector
Ancient
- More player and grenade clips adjustments
- Closed various holes and cracks in the world
Mirage
- Fixed clipping around scaffolding at bombsite b to prevent one-way peeking through geo
Office
- Fixed player getting stuck on the large crate in garage
- General grenade clip polish
- Vending machine break sequence now only happens once to avoid strobing lights
- Removed collision from pipes and cctv cameras at ct spawn garage
- Added grenade clips to doors at stairwell
- Fixed hole in door frame at t-spawn
- Fixed texture errors on ceiling at conference room
- Fixed some lighting errors on low settings
- Fixed weapons getting stuck behind crates at back way
- Fixed lighting artifacts in front courtyard
- Fixed bad boost onto electrical boxes in garage
Anubis
- Fixed z-fighting on stairs in connector
- Improved ground at bombsite A so that it has more accurate footstep sounds
- Fixed gap in world around b-site planting area
- Fixed z-fighting a backdrop temple near t-spawn
- Fixed missing collision at connector that would allow grenades to fall through world
- Fixed hole in world at street that allowed players to see through to canal
- Fixed vis issue on street looking back to t-spawn
- Fixed UV stretching in connector
- Sealed up holes in building rooftops for entire level to prevent grenades getting stuck in void
- Fixed holes in lower tunnel
- Fixed hole in canal
Inferno
- Moved bucket on scaffolding on bombsite B that could be mistaken for player during combat
- Closed hole to prevent grenades from falling through the map on bombsite A
- More player clip adjustments
- Fixed various micro gaps
Nuke
- Minor clipping fixes on rooftops and hut
- Better caustics in pool at B site
- Fixed vis issue in garage looking towards hell
Vertigo
- Fixed some light fixtures showing backfaces
- Fixed some light fixtures being misaligned
- Fixed missing vent pieces in Tunnels
- Attempt to fix players clipping through wood boards by stairwell at bombsite b
- Fixed bad clip above door at elevator
- Fixed flashbang inconsistency with metal gratings at scaffolding
- Fixed missing collision on horizontal tower beams at b-site
- Added grenade clips around bombsite b to prevent smokes getting caught in bad spaces
- Cleaned up geo and did a grenade clip pass around scaffold to make grenades work better
- Added grenade clip to b platform
- Fixed disconnected girders at mid
- Moved stack of drywall at back door>b for better movement/cover
- Improved clipping at side
- Jobsite injury signs are more responsive
